Tips for Tackling the Teaser

Those of you Pilates enthusiasts who know us or who have watched our Pilates workouts also know that the Teaser, given the fact that we have such tight lower backs, was a real zinger for us to master. While it was possible to accomplish something that looks “Teaser-esque” using sheer momentum, that is hardly Pilates’ version of the Teaser. A “perfect” Teaser should be executed with control, finesse, methodical in nature every time. After all, the real secret to the Teaser, besides abdominal strength, is SEQUENCING!! Getting sequencing correct in the Teaser can be your Golden Ticket to better success with not only this Pilates exercise, but also more enjoyable Pilates workouts from here on end.

1. Rome was not built in a day!! Spare yourself frustration and don’t try to conquer the Teaser on your first try.

2. Don’t compare yourself to others… As we always say, the gods of Pilates are fair!! Sometimes people with very little experience can just do the teaser because of a very flexible spine, forgiving ratio of torso to leg length, or whatever. Simply focus on you and your needs!!

3. Work on the Pilates exercises that will help you execute the Teaser a little bit every day. Even 5 minutes a day will do the trick. Actually this will be much more effective than working for 20 -25 minutes on the same muscle group, which will simply cause a lot of fatigue.

6. Go through the progressions of the Teaser. Start with Teaser 1, not Teaser 3 or 4!! Make sure that you can do each Tier relatively well before challenging yourself with a more difficult progression.

7. For Teaser 1, really work on rolling through the spine and finding the proper place to arrive for the “V” sit. Remember, you are not directly up on your sits bones!! For those of you who have difficulty lifting the torso off the mat, using a stretch band around the feet or holding a weighted medicine ball or mini body bar (3-5 pounds is usually more than enough!) will assist you by carrying your weight forward for you.

8. For Teaser 2, try the modifications with only one leg lifted at a time. Perfect these, and then move on to the both legs lifted version. Even when you progress to both legs lifted, you can always bend your knees slightly to start just to make the lever a little bit shorter.

9. For Teaser 3, and all teasers really, make sure that you are directing your energy forward to the level of your own knees and not up to the ceiling, for example. Lifting your chest too high and too soon will typically pull the lower thoracic spine into slight extension, making it very difficult to complete the exercise.

10. Take a private lesson if you can! Despite the best efforts of Pilates videos and tips, there is no substitute for excellent one on one instruction!! A skilled Pilates instructor will be able to discern exactly where the weak spots may lie and help you immensely with the Teaser and other Pilates exercises.

Many of our Pilates mat workouts feature The Teaser in all sorts of variations, so enjoy!!